chawz

Can you name three “killer pig” movies without resorting to the internet? If so, then Chawz is right up your alley…but for God’s sake don’t list that as one of your 27 levels of compatibility on eHarmony, alright?! A Korean import that mirrors (in a smudgy sort of way) the plot for Spielberg’s classic monster shark flick, Chawz is both better than you’d expect and worse than it should be. In the plus column, the movie goes for quirky right off the bat, set in a Twin Peaksian mountain town populated by the Korean equivalent of Log Ladies and dancing dwarves. But even in his more obtuse moments, David Lynch never had the cajones to introduce a 3000 pound man-eating boar! Chawz never manages to incorporate the oversized swine into the story smoothly either. There are some typical “kill scenes” where random characters are munched offscreen and even a false ending or two. But there’s just not enough bacon on display. As much as I appreciate a well-written character or two, I paid to see a giant pig, dammit, and I want my money’s worth! Chawz does finally get around to revealing the full piggly wiggly (I’m running low on pork jokes) during the big finale. The results are just a hair better than some of the SyFy Channel beasties on display every Saturday. Although the comic spin is appreciated and often very entertaining, Chawz can’t quite live up to other recent Korean monstrosities like The Host. Extras include a Making Of, several featurettes and blooper reel.